First Seawater Heat Pump District Heating System in North America

Juneau District Heating is the First Seawater Heat Pump District Heating System in North America to use Emerson Climate Technologies patented seawater heat pumps that have been tried and proven in the Drammen, Norway district heating system since 2011.

Low Conversion Costs-District Heating is easy

Boilers are expensive-to purchase and maintain. Instead, a low-cost Energy Transfer Station is installed by Juneau District Heating.  This Energy Transfer Station makes the connection from the JDH delivery pipes into a customer’s building heating system.

A Cleaner Environment…Zero Carbon Emissions

District Energy from the Juneau District Heating plant reduces the number of smokestacks throughout Juneau and will one day eliminate the need for any fossil fuel smokestacks and their associated emissions in downtown Juneau. District heating also eliminates any concerns associated with fuel availability/fossil fuel price volatility since no fossil fuels are required.  This means no worry about expensive and hazardous fuel tank leaks and fuel storage hassles associated with traditional diesel boiler systems. The entire heating supply system has “zero carbon emissions”

Lower Heating Costs. Now and forever

District heating is less expensive than fossil fuel based heating and hot water. Most fossil fuel heating and hot water systems are 70% to 85% efficient. This means that 15% to 25% of a customers’ energy dollars go up a smokestack as unusable heat. Comparatively, with district heating, customers only pay for what they use with no wasted heat.  District heating is immune to world oil and fossil fuel prices, since no fuel is burned. Additionally, the cost to maintain a customer on-site system disappears.  Juneau District Heating will provide reliable, steady, and comfortable high temperature heat, from completely renewable local sources, at a greatly reduced cost that greatly, reduces the risk of fire and other hazards.

300% Efficient Heating

The Emerson Climate Technologies patents and know-how have enabled a seawater-based heat pump system that delivers 3 kilowatts worth of Btu’s of usable heat for every 1 kilowatt of input to run the equipment.  This 300% efficient heating is transformational because it efficiently converts otherwise unusable heat from a totally renewable source (seawater) into a usable form.

Simple inexpensive connections

Juneau District Heating supplies the Energy Transfer Station making the connection to the District Heating System inexpensive and simple, usually requiring no building retrofits or expensive conversion systems.

Lower Energy Costs

With district thermal energy, a building only purchases the energy it needs to meet its requirements with 100% efficiency. It also eliminates a customers’ need to run a boiler just to get hot water in the summertime District heating supplies all heat and hot water needs all year round.

Enhanced Cash Flow

With Juneau District Heating, highly trained on-site maintenance and operating personnel, or plumbing and heating contractors with costly annual maintenance contracts, are no longer required. Juneau District Heating eliminates this expense by ensuring that your Energy Transfer Station is running at peak performance year-round. In fact, a customer can look up their energy and operational costs on their I-phone or Android device 24/7.  Boiler and hot water tank operating and maintenance expenses (i.e. electricity, water treatment chemicals, insurance) are all eliminated. The cost of insurance can also be reduced to reflect the lower risk due to the elimination of flammable or environmentally damaging fossil fuels on premise.  Additionally, any “demand charges” during boiler start-up are eliminated, which can additionally lower annual electrical charges.

Stable Competitive Energy Rates…indefinitely

Remember $4.00+ fuel oil and how you had to absorb this exorbitant price?  With Juneau District Heating there are no fossil fuels to worry about so you can forget about fossil fuel inflation and fossil fuel volatility and relax with predictable and reliable heat for years to come.  Juneau District Heating converts two local and inexpensive resources: hydropower and sea water to create competitive and stable heating for you indefinitely.

More Revenue-Generating Space

Elimination of boiler systems and their auxiliaries within a building can free up valuable floor space for income producing purposes and increases architectural flexibility. The use of district heating reduces vibration and noise problems and eliminates the need for stacks going up through a building. A customer building becomes instantly green (economically and environmentally) and increases the sustainability of their community.

Supporting the Local Economy

The Juneau Chamber of Commerce runs a “Buy Local” campaign. Juneau District Heating’s local energy and heat resources provide local benefits by keeping energy dollars local.  These energy dollars recirculate and stay in the Juneau economy.  Juneau District Heating creates a new industry in Juneau with long-term direct and indirect jobs that never leave the community.  In addition, district heating will improve property values and reduce fire risks, while simultaneously reducing the cost of maintaining buildings in Juneau.  Energy and heat savings to downtown schools can result in more funds going directly to education. Energy and heat savings to municipal buildings means that tax dollars are better spent on local services.

Reliable Heating Service

District Heating systems typically are better maintained and operated than in-building systems. Highly qualified operators monitor and maintain the systems 24/7 365 days a year providing responsible and reliable heat whenever it is needed.

The first of many to follow…a repeatable system

The Juneau District Heating system is modeled after the successful system in Drammen, Norway.  The Juneau heating district will be the first implementation of  this unique seawater heat pump technology in the US.  Juneau will become a shining beacon for this type of innovation to to achieve energy security and energy independence using local seawater and renewable electricity resources. Other coastal communities will want to copy and build upon our success.

Energy Security and Energy Resilience

All the Energy inputs (hydropower and seawater) are local and low cost.  Juneau will become energy secure and achieve an unmatched energy resilience that will provide lower cost heat now and for future generations of Juneauites. Conversely, oil and fossil fuels are shipped 891 miles from Seattle to Juneau making them potentially expensive or unavailable due to changing world conditions. With Juneau District Heating, Juneau can plan its own future independently without the impact of adverse changes in the global energy market, because the local hydropower and the heat for homes and businesses are from sustainable local sources.